Georgia inmates credited with saving life of guard during work detail

POLK COUNTY, Ga. – A group of Georgia inmates are being praised after helping to save the life of a correctional officer, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

On Monday morning, the officer, who was in charge of security for the sheriff’s office, collapsed during a work detail amid high temperatures and 100 percent humidity.

The six inmates decided to act – one used the guard’s work phone to call 911 while others removed the correctional officer’s bulletproof vest so they could perform CPR and help cool him off, according to WXIA-TV. One of the inmates, identified as Greg Williams, told the station that the officer then started breathing “real heavy and real fast.”

EMS arrived quickly and treated the officer at the scene, but officials are expressing their gratitude for the inmates’ quick actions.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said in a post on Facebook:

“As we watched the horrific manhunt this week of the two inmates that killed two Correctional Officers and were captured last night we all know that Monday could have ended differently for our Officer. We are very proud of the actions of all 6 inmates.”

On Monday, the sheriff’s office treated the six men to lunch in the park and desserts prepared by the officer’s family members.

“It wasn’t about who is in jail and who wasn’t,” Williams told WXIA. “It was about a man going down and we had to help him.”